Member Rating

Dreaming of returning

Sail Date:
January 2010

Destination:
Eastern Caribbean

Embarkation:
Barbados

I'll start with the only negative - We didn't get off to a good start as we were delayed for 9 hours going out, the only consolation was that we didn't have to hang about the airport all day as Cruise Deals telephoned us the night before to inform us of the delay.

As we embarked at Havana -the delay resulted in not being able to see Havana by night but we did at least manage to see it the following day. We feel privileged to have seen Havana as it is a city like no other,it's like stepping back in time, full of character and surprisingly elegant. All the other ports of call were good apart from the Dominican - this was because the port were we docked was a poor port and as we only had a few hours in port we didn't have time to explore very far.

The ship

Our cabin was an inside standard cabin on deck 6. We had no plumbing or air con problems and the cabin was spotlessly clean. The food around the ship was very good to excellent with a large varied choice More
daily. We dined in the buffet restaurants for breakfast and lunch, usually Sirens as we preferred that deck for the pool and dined most evenings in the Orion which was excellent. We also dined on one occasion in Sirens in the evening at a supplement of 20.00 pounds and the food was excellent and it provided a change for us but we didn't feel it necessary to do it again as the food is so good everywhere else. The entertainment team are very professional and talented, headed by Stephen Guy and Gavin who are excellent.

Some reviews have criticised the appearance of the ship. Like other Thomson ships this is not a new ship but is kept spotlessly clean. If I want to be critical I would say that it could benefit from some new carpets in the main Lido restaurant and along some of the corridors but other than that this is a lovely ship. All the bars are lovely and in my opinion do not need any refurbishing, the pool areas are comfortable with plenty of sun beds. The Thomson Dream has all the ingredients for a fantastic holiday - excellent food - excellent entertainment - and last and certainly not least THE STAFF who I can't praise enough. Less

Cabin review: IN6079

Our cabin was an inside standard - the decor was nice and room and bathroom kept spotlessly clean by Leoner. The double bed was comfortable and must be larger than a standard double bed as we slept fine and we are used to sleeping in a super king bed. My only criticism is that our cabin had bunk beds which are situated either side of the bed inside the wall and these did protrude slightly so I would make sure in future that we get a cabin without bunk beds. Our cabin was 6079.
Our friends had an outside plus cabin which was very spacious and superior to the outside cabins on Thomsons other ships.

Port and Shore Excursions

The ship docks right near the town which is a plus. The town is safe to walk around and is quite interesting with good shopping. Taxi drivers in mini buses are touting to take you to where ever you want to go. We went to the beach Church Valley Beach which was lovely. It isn't very commercial - but has all the necessary comforts. A small beach bar with excellent banana dakaris and buckets of beer. A Bar B Q. Swimming is good - with waves but not too rough.

The ship docks right in the town again. Excellent jewellery shops here and the man in the jewellery shop told us about the bus across the road that will take you to a beach. The beach was lovely but unfortunately we got their too late and their wasn't any sunbeds.

Unfortunately we made the wrong decision in this port we wish we'd have done an island tour as we have been told that it is beautiful. We just went to a beach and the beach was attached to a hotel and drinks too expensive - also the beach wasn't very clean and very packed.